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Have you ever found yourself in a desperate situation? What
do you do in those times when you have sunk to your lowest point and have
nothing else to lose? Do you lay down and sulk, or do you fight and scratch?
For some, the desperate, seemingly hopeless situations are the ones that drive
them to the Lord Jesus Christ. Today, we will consider a narrative that tells
of a woman who has been plagued for years by a certain ailment, but in the end
she finds restoration and joy in the power of Jesus Christ. We also will read
about a young girl who was raised from the dead, blind men who were healed, and
a demon-possessed man who was freed. These hopeless situations find hope in the
Lord, and you can find hope as well, if you approach Him by faith.

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A Woman Who had a
Flow of Blood vv20-22

This is a fantastic story bookended by the beginning and end
of the story of the girl raised from the dead. This woman who comes to Jesus
has been continually bleeding for twelve years. Obviously the problem is no
threat to her life, but with this condition she is an outcast. She would have
been considered unclean by the community. She would not have been able to
worship at the Temple,
in the synagogues, nor had relationships with any friends or family.

Because of this, she approaches Jesus from behind. This is a
daring move to approach someone, especially Jesus. She went for the hem of His
garment, maybe the tassels that would have been hanging from His prayer shawl.
For some reason, the woman thinks that if she could touch the hem of His
garment she would be healed. The grammar tells us that’s what she continually
told herself as she approached the Master. Maybe it was an act of humility.
Maybe she thought it would be out of the question to grab Jesus’ hand or
something of the like, but if she just touched His garment it would be enough.
Or possibly she considered the act of grabbing His garment as a sign of a
request for help. Either way, she was healed when she touched the garment, but
Jesus makes clear that it was her faith that accessed the mercy that was
provided. That she was made “well” or was “healed” is more literally the word
“saved.” Jesus told the woman that her faith had saved her. She was delivered
from her present condition, and, possibly, we can hear a hint that she was
saved from her sins. She could now be cheerful.

What is so important about this story? First of all, notice
the irony. Jesus is on His way to a girl’s dead body and is met on the way be a
woman who has a flow of blood. Both of these could make Jesus unclean, but He
is not concerned with external laws of cleanliness. He is concerned about the
people. So, He does not consider Himself, but others. Remember, He is the One
who said that He had come not to be served, but to serve and give His life as a
ransom for many. Second, Jesus was on a mission to raise the girl from the
dead. One request had already been made, yet He takes the time to stop the
parade that was forming in the street in order to speak to this woman. Not only
would this have been viewed as inappropriate for the situation, but the crowd
would have found it inappropriate for Jesus to speak to a woman. Yet, Jesus is
not concerned with what is socially appropriate. Lastly, “This woman lived in a
perpetual state of impurity, which resulted in her poverty, isolation, and
suffering” (Burge, 44). Yet, we see that Jesus is not a respecter of persons.
He is a respecter of faith. Faith is what He is looking for and is what He
responds to.

Daughter has just
Died vv18-19 and 23-26

At the beginning of our text this morning we were told that
Jesus was approached by a ruler while He was still teaching. Visualize this
scene. A ruler comes and bows down to Jesus, the Lord. This man was probably
the ruler of a synagogue. He had to truly humble himself to go and request help
from Jesus. He is desperate because his daughter had become greatly ill and had
died, but He knows Jesus’ reputation. He says, “. . . lay Your hand on her and she will live.” The ruler’s
faith is as great as desperation. He believes that Jesus can raise the dead to
life! Notice that the woman with the hemorrhage had bled for twelve years. This
girl was about that age. Jesus’ response is immediate. He gets up and follows
the man.

When Jesus finally arrived at the man’s house, after His
encounter with the bleeding woman, He sees flute players and wailers. All Jews
were required to hire at least two flute players and one wailing woman. Jesus
is actually able to get the noisy crowd to leave the house. “Put outside”
reflects a word that can literally mean “throw out.” Apparently Jesus and the
ruler throw the people out of the house. Matthew gives us few details, but
sticks to the root of what happened. “. . .He went in and took her by the hand, and the
girl arose.” Of course, this news spread throughout all the land in a matter of
moments.

Two Blind Men vv27-31

Jesus rarely finds the time to rest. He is teaching and is
interrupted by a man who wants his daughter brought back to life. He is on His
way to that house and is interrupted by a woman who wants to be healed from an
issue of blood. As soon as both are restored, two blind men follow Him seeking
another miracle. They want to be healed of their blindness. Jesus apparently
ignores their cries, but they follow Him into a house. Jesus has one question
for them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They
reply affirmatively and respectfully. If Jesus can raise the dead, He can surely
restore sight!

As Jesus touches their eyes with His healing
hands, He once again emphasizes faith. He heals them in response to their faith. Isaiah predicted that the Messiah
would have such a ministry. He said in 35:5-6, “Then the eyes of the blind
shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame
shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst
forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.” Their eyes were opened,
but Jesus commands them to tell no one. Possibly Jesus does not want to gain a
false following. He did not want followers who were only there to see a
spectacle or only there for physical healing. The two are disobedient to the
word of the Lord, and they go spread the news all over that country.

A Man, Mute and Demon-Possessed
vv32-34

Once again Jesus is faced with another issue that demands
His attention. As He leaves that house He is confronted by a group who bring to
Him a mute and demon-possessed man. This miracle will mark the end of this
section in Matthew’s Gospel account. He has shown us the great wonder-working
power of the Son of God in sweeping fashion. Jesus has the authority and power
to cast out demons, command the storms, heal every type of illness, and even
raise the dead to life. In this last paragraph, we are not directed toward the
details of the exorcism, but to the crowd’s reaction. There is a foreshadowing
here of things to come. The crowd says, “It was never seen like this in Israel!” Yet,
the Pharisees say, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.” Matthew
gives us no explanation, just the facts. We are left with the two options of
how we will respond. Will we react with derision or with delight in the things
of God?

Conclusion

1) Jesus does not
allow Himself to be constrained by tradition or social standards. What does
this teach us? First, none of us are too far from Him. He will touch and save
any of us. He is no respecter of persons. He has come to seek and save the
lost. He did not come to call the righteous (seemingly) to repentance, but
sinners. He did not come to be served, but to serve and lay down His life for
us. Second, we should not allow ourselves to be limited in our scope of
ministry. How dare we discriminate against certain peoples! How dare we show
favoritism to one and not another! Are we above our Master? He humbled Himself
to do the work of the ministry, Gospel ministry, Kingdom ministry, and we must
do the same. No servant is greater than his master.

2) We are called
to follow our Master, to pick up our cross and follow Him. Therefore, we must
act immediately when we are confronted with needs, even when we must be
inconvenienced. As Americans, our goal every day is to find convenience.
Convenience in-and-of-itself is not a bad thing, but the ferocious pursuit of
it can be sinful. We are to consider others better than ourselves. Therefore,
if we see a need, even if it may hassle us, we must act in response.

3) There is
nothing too great for the Lord Jesus to overcome. An application to almost any
sermon is found in two words: Trust Christ. Why would you not trust the one who
heals diseases and conditions, raises the dead back to life, restores strength
from disability, and is sovereign over the works of the adversary? I will trust
Him, every moment, and I hope you will too.

We will pick up where we left off last week with Jesus
saying, “For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
This kind of ministry will turn the Jewish world upside down. The Pharisees and
Scribes do not comprehend it, not even the disciples of John can come to an
understanding. Jesus has already weathered an attack from the Pharisees. They
were not bold enough to face Jesus with their scorn, but went to Christ’s disciples
instead. Now Jesus will be faced with a critical question from the disciples of
John the baptizer.

Jesus will answer the immediate, smaller question and then
go on to describe the bigger picture. So often we get caught up with the small
stuff and completely miss the large. We spend a lot of time packing a suitcase,
but we miss the boat. You see, the Pharisees and John’s disciples had one thing
in common. Both groups were extreme legalists. They were excessive in their
rule-keeping, and their laws came from not only the Old Testament, but also the
traditions that they had established. They spent so much time tending to the
details of the Law that they completely missed the Word of God who became flesh
and dwelt among them.

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Question and Answer
vv14-15

The Law of Moses only commanded that God’s people fast on
one particular day, the Day of Atonement. Yet, the custom of the Pharisees and
disciples of John was to practice fasting on a regular basis, even twice a week.
Probably on several occasions the strict, legalistic Jews of the Pharisees and
disciples of John found themselves fasting while Jesus and His disciples were
feasting. It was so outrageous that Jesus’ disciples did not fast that the
disciples of John put themselves in a category with the Pharisees, a group of
which they were very critical. Remember, it was John who said to the Pharisees, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to
come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of
repentance. . . .” I mean every good, law-keeping, righteous Jew fasted
often; even twice a week. Yet, Jesus and His group had never been known to
fast. This is strange, if not scandalous.

Jesus responds to the question with a question of His own.
He answers allegorically, but the truth is apparent. There are plenty of times
in life to mourn, but a wedding is not one of those times. A groom’s buddies
are not going to grieve while they are with their friend. They are going to
celebrate. They are going to enjoy themselves. “The bridegroom’s [friends]
cannot be fasting while the feasting is at its height!” (Morris, 224). Jesus
says that as long as He is present, the disciples have no reason to mourn. They
have no reason to fast. Then Jesus foreshadows His coming death and future ascension
back to heaven. That will be a time for fasting. The book of Acts tells us that
the early Christians did spend time fasting.

Biblical Christianity is not about religious performance,
but about faith. It is not our accomplishments to which God responds. The
Father responds to the accomplishments of Christ. Thus, we are to trust in what
Christ has done and not in ourselves.

Connective: Jesus
has now answered the direct question, but He will go on to give the men more
than they were asking for. He will tell them what they really need to know.

Unshrunk Cloth on an
Old Garment v16

I have some old jeans that have holes in them. I wear them
to work in. I went and bought some of the iron-on patches and followed the
directions line by line, but down to the last patch they all fell off. This
would hold true especially of materials in the New Testament times. A garment
would shrink when it was washed and it would become worn over time. Now if you
took a new piece of cloth that had not been shrunk and placed it on the old
garment, what would happen? The first time the garment was washed the patch
would shrink. There would be tension, and the tension would tear the garment
even more. The hole would become larger.

The ministry of the Lord Jesus was not going to be a patch
for traditional, legalistic Judaism.

New Wine into Old Wineskins
v17

New wine refers to
wine that is still fermenting. Old
wineskins refers to a container that is practically worn out. In ancient
times, people would make liquid containers out of animal skins, usually goats.
They would skin the animal, tie up the feet and neck, and leave a small
opening. Fermenting wine would have lots of pressure from the gases. New skins
have flexibility, they have some stretch. An old skin loses that stretch and
cannot withstand the pressure from new, still fermenting wine. The pressure
would cause an old skin to burst. If that happens, you have lost both the wine
and the skin. What people would do is put new wine into a new skin so that both
are preserved.

The new wine of faith in Christ cannot be poured into the
old wineskins of traditional Judaism.

Notice that Jesus does not completely do away with structure
(wineskins). There are new skins for the new wine. We are not under law but
under grace. We live in the age of the Spirit. He has come to dwell within all
those who have accepted Christ by faith. He writes the law of Christ, the royal
law, upon our hearts. This is the new skin in which the new wine is poured.

Conclusion

This is the point in the sermon when you are supposed to
say, “So what?”

First, we do not have to do “religious” things because
everyone else is doing them.

Many of the
“righteous” Jews of the first century fasted, but Jesus’ group did not.

Second, have you noticed the new vs. old idea?

Jesus was not going to force the
new work He was doing into the old frame. Attempting to patch the old would
have made an even worse tear from the tension. Attempting to pour the new into
the old would have caused so much pressure that both the old and the new would
have been lost.

Now let’s get real personal and practical. What is it
in your life that you will not do away with? Is God doing a new thing, but you
won’t let go of the old? The tension and pressure will only build if you don’t
realize that you need a new frame for this new work. What is it that needs to
be done in this church, but we are trying to force it into our tradition to the
detriment of both?

When was the last time that you sat down to eat with someone
who was considered an outcast? When was the last time that you went to spend
time at the house of a worthless sinner?

The Lord will challenge us today with not only His words,
but with His actions as well. We will read of the time that He called a gross
sinner to discipleship and even sat down at the guy’s house to eat a meal with
many more sinners of the same ilk.

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Proper Response v9

We don’t know what kind of contact Matthew had with the
ministry of Jesus or the influence that Jesus had on Matthew previous to this
“calling.” Matthew probably heard the preaching of Jesus. He had probably
either seen or most definitely heard about His ministry. Thus, it is not
outrageous that Matthew would drop what he was doing to follow Jesus. What we
can say about Matthew’s action is that it was a proper response. You don’t have
to make a decision about the Gospel the very first time you hear it, but you
must begin to count the cost of following Christ and make a decision very soon.
When you hear the call of Jesus you must respond. Maybe He is calling some of
you today to follow Him. Make a commitment today. Maybe you have been a
Christian for many years, but you have sensed that He is calling you to do a
new thing. Make a decision to follow Him wherever He may lead.

Ministering, Not
Communing vv10-11

We must go outside of our comfort zones to reach the lost in
this community, but we must not participate in their sin. You see, Jesus
ministered to “sinners,” but was Himself sinless. Do not fear sinners,
outcasts, or this world, but go to them with the love of Christ. Go to them
with the Gospel of their salvation by faith in Him. There is something to
“meeting people where they are,” yet we must take caution to not fall into sin.
Sin separates us from God. We want to bring people to the Savior, not separate
ourselves from Him. The Apostle Paul said to the Corinthians, “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits.’ Awake to righteousness, and do not sin. . . .”
Although we must minister to sinners, we must be wary of keeping bad company.
The Apostle also told the Galatians, “Brethren, if a
man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a
one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
There is a ministry of restoring sinners back to God, but we must guard
ourselves lest we fall into the same sin. Let me lastly quote to you what the
Apostle told the Corinthians on another occasion. He said, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For
what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has
light with darkness?And what
accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?”
My key point here is to say that there is a major difference between
ministering to the lost and joining in their wrongdoing.

Jesus obviously dined with sinners. The word “sinners” here
in verses 10-11 refer to the most grievous sinners of the community. They were
the outcasts, the most despised. Now, let’s imagine something. What if Jesus
were to put on flesh and blood and move into our neighborhood? Who would be the
outcasts that He would dine with? I can imagine that He would eat with and
minister to minorities, the poor, drug addicts, alcoholics, the homeless,
homosexuals, prostitutes, and the like. That is not to say that all of these
are sinners in the same sense, but they are all outcasts in our society. At
best, we ignore them. At worst, we spite them.

Tax collectors like Matthew were hated for several reasons.
They were considered:

1) traitors because they were Jews working for Rome.

2) unclean because of their constant contact with Gentiles.

3) Sabbath offenders for working on the Sabbath.

4) swindlers because they overtaxed the public to make a
large commission.

The Great Physician
vv12-13

Apparently the Pharisees who opposed Jesus were not bold
enough to do it to the Lord’s face. So, they ask the Lord’s disciples why Jesus
would eat with tax collectors and sinners. The Lord answers for His disciples
with a proverb, a phrase, and the plan.

The proverb that Jesus answers with may have been one that
was well-known, but we cannot know for sure. It seems innocent enough as it
stands, but considering the tension between the Lord and the Pharisees, this
was an indictment of their “righteousness.”

Jesus uses a phrase from Hosea 6:6 on a couple of occasions,
and Matthew is sure to record it for us. Obviously it is an important
expression. It teaches that God requires more than external obedience. He
requires more than a going-through-the-motions type of law-keeping. Those
things are all well and good, but God requires much more. He calls us to agree
with Him sincerely from a pure heart. Under the Old Covenant, making sacrifices
to God was good, but God expected mercy that much more.

The last part of the Lord’s response is the statement of the
plan of redemption. Once again, this statement condemns the Pharisaical system
and understanding of righteousness while stating the plan of God. Jesus has
come to call everyone to repentance and salvation, all those who come to the
understanding that they are poor in spirit.

Conclusion

1) Respond to the call of Christ whether it is initially or
later in your Christian life.

2) Move outside of your comfort zone to minister to the
lost, but do not sin.

3) Do not attempt to conform to a system of
righteousness, trust in Christ’s righteousness.